The One He Looked Up To
by GoddessofSnark
Summary: John was the one person in the world James Norrington admired most. In the Amor del un Hermano universe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own em, Mickey does. I do however own the whole Amor del un Hermano universe.  
  
Authors Notes: Takes place in the Amor del un Hermano universe, this the backstory leading up to it.  
  
He sat enthralled by the glorious tale his brother was telling. He looked up from his spot on the surf, watching as his older brother drew a crowd around him. John had always been amazing at telling wondrous stories, and now that he was an officer with the Royal Navy, he had even more stories to tell. Stories of the high seas, of sea creatures one could only wish to see, stories of the great fierce storms they had to sail through, but the stories that interested him the most were those tales of pirates.  
  
Pirates, the scourge of the ocean sea. He longed to be a pirate, to have all the gold and all the ladies one wanted, and to have everyone bow down in fear of you, in fear of the infamous black flag with the white skull and crossbones emblazoned upon it. At the very least, he knew what he wanted to do. he wanted to follow after his brother, to join the Royal Navy, and get to sail the high seas, battling the evil swashbuckling buccaneers and saving the fair damsels from the clutches of those evil pirates.  
  
He was torn. He always had an innate sense of justice, of duty, he always did as he was told, always obeyed orders. He knew that being a pirate was wrong, but he longed for the rebellion it would bring, he longed for the excitement. But he knew that the British Navy, one of the best navies in the world could offer him the same excitement, the same thrill that being a pirate would, the freedom that his brother so often talked about when he mentioned the seas, without the fear of being hung.  
  
His brother lept from rock to rock on the jagged coast, his sword out as he demonstrated how he took care of an entire fleet of pirates himself. "Murdered the whole plunderous lot myself I did." Whenever John would tell the stories of the pirates he encountered, he would voice them so well. He was such a magnificent storyteller, such a magnificent actor; he was one of the most amazing people that he had ever seen. John Norrington was perhaps the most well loved man in the entire little coastal town just north of London.  
  
John finished the magnificent tale he was telling, and walked up to his little brother, giving the small boy a hand up. "Well there lad, have you ever been on board a ship before? Better yet, have you ever sailed one?" John draped a protective arm around his younger brothers shoulders. "Let old Johnny here show you what it's like to be a sailor."  
  
"Really John?" The little boy could hardly hide his excitement. How many days had he stood on the coast watching the ocean, longing to be out on one of the huge, majestical ships that sailed it, how many times had he longed to be one of the brave sailors, surviving everything from storms with waves fifty feet high to the evil pirates.  
  
"Really James." With that, the older man removed the tricorne hat that he was wearing, the mark of an officer, and placed it squarely upon the boys face, where it promptly fell into his eyes. The older man ran a hand through his thick dark chocolate hair, a rich brown, almost black. It was a tad bit longer than was fashionable, but he never seemed to pay much mind to it. He removed a red handkerchief from the pocket of his much revered blue and gold jacket, and tied it around his head, keeping back his hair. "I stole this from a pirate I did." he told his brother, as he lead him up the gangplank to the ship itself.  
  
"You really get to sail this?" The boy asked in amazement, walking the length of the deck.  
  
"You betcha I do laddie." He led the boy up to the helm, and the beautiful oak wheel that lay there. "This here's the wheel. It's fairly self- explanatory. You turn it right to go right, you turn it left to go left." He hoisted the boy up on his shoulders as he ran down to where the mast protruded up from the center of the boat. "There's the mast, it holds up all the sail we got. C'mon boy, I'll show you something really cool." With that, he proceeded to climb up the rigging, the boy following close behind.  
  
"This is the boom, they call it that because when it hits you, it goes boom." He said laughing. "But up here, up here, you have freedom. Up here, on top of the mast, up in the crows nest, all you can see is the beautiful sea, and the freedom that the lady brings." The older man looked out wistfully at the open ocean before him, and the boy joined him, staring out and seeing what his brother could see, freedom.  
  
"It's beautiful." The boy hissed quietly, and his older brother draped his arm around him, and pulled the boy close.  
  
"That it is laddie boy. That she is." The boy moved slightly atop the boom, and watched as the hat toppled into the sea below. John turned to see it splash. "Hold this." He said to the boy, draping the large heavy coat around the boy's shoulders, and handing the boy his sword. With that, he dove into the ocean cleanly, and came up a minute later hat in his hands.  
  
"Wow." Was all his brother could say, amazed at his brothers fearlessness. He always had admired his brother. He was so fearless, so brave, so unafraid of everything. And his brother had the rebellious streak that he didn't. His brother wasn't afraid to break a few rules in the name of fun.  
  
"That, boy, is the joy of sailing for the Crown. We're looking for a cabin boy y'know." The young boy just stared up at the older man in amazement.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really. Now all that we need is for our dear old mum to agree. Just think of it, three sailors in the family, and we're all good ones at that. Just think by the time you're my age you'll probably be better off than I am!" both men laughed at that as they retreated towards the small cottage, laughing and joking. 


	2. Chapter 2

"No, you are NOT letting him join the navy. It's bad enough having you out there, look what happened to your father."  
  
"Mother." the young adult tried to bargain. "Mother, just look at him. James wasn't made to be a landlubber, nor was I. We have sailor's blood in us; we have the salt water of the sea running through our veins. Just let him come with me, he'll be safer on board our ship than a chick under a sparrows wing."  
  
"No, no, and for the last time, absolutely not!" The grand Mrs. Norrington was a mess as she tried to cook dinner for her family in welcome of her eldest son's return for the next few days.  
  
"Just give her time lad, she'll warm up, she always does." John whispered into his younger brother's ear. "Till then, I have a gift for you. Come with me." The boy followed eagerly. "Now, I know I missed yer tenth birthday, so I got you a gift to make up for it. Close your eyes" the boy obeyed impatiently. "Now stick out your hands." The boy placed both his hands out in front of him only to have them weighted down by a long, heavy box. "Happy birthday, luv."  
  
The boy opened the box, torn between anxiousness and wanting to savor the moment. Finally, impatience won out and he ripped the box open to reveal a beautiful sword. "Is it really mine? Is it really mine John?" the boy was almost squealing with delight.  
  
"It's all yours. Consider it a gift from the soon to be Captain John." The older man was positively beaming.  
  
"They're going to make you a captain?"  
  
"It's why I'm in the market for a cabin boy." He said with a wink. "Now don't let mum see that or she'll throw a fit, you know she wants you to grow up to be a respectable young man."  
  
"I want to be a pirate!" The boy said brandishing the sword.  
  
"Oh, no you don't laddie. You know what they do to pirates?"  
  
"What?" The boy asked indignantly.  
  
"A short drop and quick stop for them it is." As he said that line he mimed someone getting hung, and the boy shuddered at the thought of what should happen to him. "It's why I joined the Navy I did. All the excitement of sailing, all the fighting, and swordplay that you get being a pirate, with, of course, half the fun, but you get to keep your hide. C'mon, I'll teach you how to use that thing."  
  
And so he did. John Norrington taught his brother everything he knew about how to use a sword while he was home that week on shore leave. There was always something awkward about the older man though, that his younger brother loved. There was an odd quirkiness, a stagger in his gait whenever he was on land that he didn't have when he was on a boat. And that intrigued the young boy, who always had a curious nature to begin with.  
  
And when that week was up, it turned out that a mother's steadfast will could match and outdo that of the young sailors. So it was with a heavy heart that John left his family behind that cold night, with parting words to his brother. "When you look out to the sea, remember the freedom that it holds. The sea is freedom, nothing less. Treat her kindly lad. You have saltwater in your blood, as do I, make the most of it. You'll go far boy, you'll go far." With that, he flopped the tricorne hat on the young boys head, and walked off, down to the dock where his boat was moored, majestic in the faint glow of the setting sun.  
  
It was not long after when the small family got the one letter that they never wanted to get.  
  
"It is my sorrowful duty to inform you with much regret that the HMS Angeles was attacked not long ago by a band of pirates. The whereabouts of your son, Captain John Norrington are unknown, but the royal navy now believes he is dead. Admiral Michael Stockwell."  
  
It was a letter that made their mother sob, and sent the boy to his room, to brood, to make him resolve to wipe out every pirate that dared to sail on the Atlantic. He wore the sword proudly around his hip, a constant reminder of what his brother meant to him, and never went anywhere without his tricorne hat, the best gift his brother had ever given him. And it was that day when they got the news that he made up his mind to do whatever it took to join the Royal Navy.  
  
Any thoughts of him being a pirate had been abolished when he had found out what pirates had done to his brother, the one who he loved so much, the one who showed him what the sea really was, the one who had taught him to love the sea. And love the sea he did, even with his mother's protests that she couldn't have all three men in her life go off gallivanting about the ocean, getting themselves killed for no apparent reason. The sea was his only love; the sea was his one true love.  
  
And it was that night that drove him to do whatever it took for him to wipe out every last remaining pirate in the ocean, looking especially hard for the ship that was rumored to have sank his brother, a ship that had already gained itself legend. It's what drove him to sail all over the ocean in search of the great ship that was said to have been the ship to sink half the British navy. It's what drove him up through the ranks from a lowly officer all the way up through commodore.  
  
All the time he was out on the sea, he spent it looking for one solitary ship, the one ship that he knew killed his brother, and he'd do whatever it took to ensure that his brothers words would be put to use. He would personally make sure that every pirate on board of the legendary ship would get a short drop and a sudden stop. He would personally see to it that the ship would burn to ashes in the ocean, never to be seen again. He would personally make sure that no one would survive the Black Pearl. Not after what they did to his beloved brother. 


End file.
